“Dark, then?”
“Oh, quite dark! I should not have seen von Eckhardstein but for the fact that I struck a match to light my cigar. He saw me—he was leaning against a gate, close by. He hailed me, and after I had expressed my surprise at our meeting, told me that he was the guest of a lady in the village. Then he wanted to know what I was doing there. It immediately occurred to me that he was the very man to take up the remaining one-third share I have mentioned to you, so I told him my business. I also explained the proposition, and told him what Markenmore and I proposed to do.”
“Another question,” said Blick. “Did von Eckhardstein know Markenmore? Had they ever had any dealings?”
“I do not think they had—no. As to knowing each other, I daresay they may have been, and probably were, familiar with each other’s name, as financiers. But I am sure that until that night they had never known each other personally.”
“That,” remarked Blick, “is precisely what I wanted to know. Go on!”
CHAPTER XV
WAS IT ROBBERY?
Lansbury smiled at the note of eagerness in the detective’s voice. He leaned forward in his chair, looking from one to the other of his listeners as if to indicate that he was now coming to the really important part of his story.
“Go back a bit, you mean,” he said with a laugh “to my meeting with von Eckhardstein. Well, as I said, I explained the proposition to him. We walked along the road, leading outward from Markenmore, for some time, discussing matters. We——”